NOTES ON ENGLISH BOTANY, SUPPLEMENT ' 257 



height on account of the moss growing quickly around it, 

 and that this appearance of stem was rather to be considered as 

 an elongation of the root ; but I have doubted of this since 

 I have found a stem leafy ; and that the other two species of 

 Droscra, though growing exactly in the same situation, and 

 within a few inches of the longifolia, do not assume this 

 caulescent form." Dr. Hind noticed this, which he thought 

 " a new variety if not a new species," near Killarney, and 

 reported on it in the " Phytologist," n.s.,vo\. ii. 1857-58, pp. 

 26, 27, where it is figured ; and later on he gave it the varietal 

 name caulescens, so that Dr. Hind, not Mr. Melvill, is the author 

 of the varietal name. Following recent examples D. longifolia, 

 L., would seem to be the name we should use for the species. 



Under the " Cheddar Pink " the synonym or name of D. 

 gratianopolitanus is mispelled grantianopolitanus. 



The very weak varieties, if such they can be called, of 

 Silene gallica from the " London Catalogue " are not only 

 included, but add one more to our list of synonyms. 



The large-flowered variety of Cerastium vulgatum, L., is 

 called C. triviale, Link., var. Serpentini, Boswell (Syme). Mr. 

 Brown says " it is one of a series of forms that seem to com- 

 pletely connect these two species," i.e. C. alpinum and C. 

 vulgatum. Last year I noticed on the Spean hills how 

 numerous were the intermediate forms, and how difficult it 

 was to define the limitations of C. arcticum, C. alpinum, 

 and C. vulgatum. Respecting the statement made by Mr. 

 Brown that the var. alpinum of C. vulgatum has " the petals 

 not much longer than the sepals," this is not according to my 

 idea of the plant. Dr. Boswell labelled as his var. alpestre a 

 form of C. vulgatum from West Ross, with the flowers much 

 longer than the sepals, indeed nearly as large as ordinary C. 

 alpinum. A great many plants are called var. alpestre or 

 var. alpinum, with short petals ; but I do not think they 

 represent the views of Dr. Boswell Syme. 



No notice is taken of the fact that the suggested 

 mistake of Sherard in that he mistook Spergula pentandra 

 for one of the winged Lepigonums is without foundation, 

 since all Sherard's specimens of 6". pentandra are correctly 

 named. 



Corion, Mitchell, 1748, is substituted for Lcpigonum, 



